My little green house, 2013
We’re not even into the new year yet, but already, my three go-to seed catalogs are here!
Seed Savers Exchange, Bountiful Gardens, and Baker Creek are the three companies from which I’ve started to purchase my seeds. All three companies are part of an effort to protect and preserve heirloom, organic vegetables, fruits, grains, and flowers. Maybe a little more expensive than just buying a packet of seeds from a seed rack at Wal-Mart, but definitely worth it.
basket of herbs– calendula, horehound, mint, and dill
These catalogs are just what I need to perk me up and to remind me that the cold and extended darkness of winter won’t last forever. Spring! It is just around the corner!
I made some mistakes last year and am mentally preparing on how I will correct them. (2013 was only my second year gardening) And I have decided to take advantage of any warm days that we’re gifted with until Spring’s arrival and use them to “play” in the garden.
Just yesterday I went out to clean things up out there and dragged wood beams to start making a nice, clean cut border for marked beds. Next, if given the chance, I’ll be out to make, and set up, trellises and to do more clean up.
Calendula, 2013. One of the seeds I saved for next year. 🙂
A few of the mistakes I made in 2013….
I was so excited and could not stop buying seeds! I bought so many different seeds, I couldn’t even plant them all.
I also learned that just because you can have someone plow and till for a massive garden, a massive garden doesn’t mean more food if you can’t take care of it all. I probably could have grown twice as much food on half the space if I had been less scatter brained in my planning and had had the ability to actually stay on top of it all.
I also learned that a household of 5, with only two people really liking tomatoes, does NOT need 30+ tomato plants. Opening a seed pack doesn’t have to make it an all or nothing deal. 😛
It wasn’t all bad though. I learned from 2012 not to underestimate the destructive power of garden pests! And had an excellent crop of cucumbers for the lesson in 2013, perfected my spicy pickle recipe by the end of the summer, and also got a nice little box of butternut squash to hold me over for the winter. I even managed to save some of my own seeds so I don’t have to purchase to replace them. 🙂
Fresh dill for making pickles.
So, Boston Pickling cucumbers, Black Cherry and Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Clemson Spineless okra, Waltham Butternut squash, Blue Jade corn, and more are all on the list of things to go into a garden cut down in size by a little more than half, using some space saving trellises in 2014. And yes, I am already excited!
My shopping list (greatly reduced from last year to more realistic proportions) is ready and soon to be ordered. February will be time to start seeds and will mean time spent basking in the sun and heat of my little but much loved green house. March 15th is the last frost date, but even if we have another extended cold spell, better decision making should leave room to house seedlings long enough to wait it out and still have everything I want to grow.
Spring isn’t here yet, but it is almost time for seeds and green houses already and that’s good enough for me!
Happy Chickens 